Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $5.2\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$146$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${5.2\%} \times {\$146} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $5.2\%$ is equivalent to $5.2 \div 100$ $5.2 \div 100 = 0.052$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.052$ $\times$ $$146$ = $$7.59$ You would pay $$7.59$ in sales tax.